There are many accessories related to the sport of snowboarding such as small adjustment tools for rapidly making "on the spot" adjustments to the boot bindings. These adjustments are often made while the user is engaged in the sport and may depend on factors such as a change in terrain or the user's preference. It is therefore often desirable and at times essential to have certain tools for making such adjustments, as well as security locks, personal items and related accessories available while participating in the sport. Typically the user must carry any cable locks, tools and/or small personal items in a pocket of a coat, pant or backpack, etc. This makes it easy for items to be misplaced or stolen if left unattended and makes it possible for the user to injure themself while participating in the sport by falling on an object stored in a pocket or backpack. Further, when using conventional cable lock systems alone, the user is limited to placement of the cable through a part of a boot binding, thus making it easy for a would-be thief to simply unscrew the three or four anchoring screws of a boot binding, leave the binding, and take the board, the board being the item of greater value. Some previous attempts have been made at devising storage packs that are fastened to the equipment by means of hook-and-loop (Velcro) engagements strips and at a retractable ski leash devices which must be mounted by drilling directly into the surface of the equipment for proper installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,103 to Baugh discloses a hip or waist pack which can be worn around the waist for carrying personal items and which can be secured to a snowboard by hook-and-loop fasteners, whereby it can be transported on a snowboard and then removed for carrying the rider's personal items around his/her waist when not in use. Waist packs can easily be ripped or torn while being used and are not equipped to be locked to the equipment or to prevent the removal of the pack or of the articles stored therein. Hook-and-loop fasteners are not a secure means of mounting the waist pack to the surface of the equipment, which is a concern as snowboards and the like are subject to rigorous use which can bump and dislodge a waist pack from the surface while in use. Additionally, snow can pack into the hook side of the fastener, eliminating the ability to make a fastening engagement with the looped side of the fastener.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,697 to Thorley discloses a retractable leash or lanyard interconnecting a ski and ski boot for retrieving a loose ski and more particularly to such a ski-mounted device employing dual purpose locking means, the clasp of which is used for attaching one end of the leash to the user's boot and/or for locking the ski to a relatively stationary structure when the ski is not in use. This device does not provide a storage capability for items which are desirable to have while participating in the sport. Further, this device is disadvantageous because it must be mounted by a professional, if the integrity of the ski construction is to be maintained, which is time-consuming, expensive and inconvenient to the user. Additionally, the device must be mounted by drilling into the surface of the ski, which on a snowboard would adversely affect the integrity of the complex laminated material from which snowboards typically are made.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved snowboard storage compartment which can be mounted easily on a snowboard and which reduces or wholly overcomes some or all of the aforesaid difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable and experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments.